Sandy sights, clearing my desk, neighborhood shots

1. As I step off the bus after another day at work singed with drama and tension, I feel myself relax. I walk out into the center of Valladolid and into Plaza Mayor where people are out for a slow paseo. The sandcastle pieces look finished, so instead of rushing home, I pitter around the square with my camera. The details of some pieces are so minute that they cannot be captured on film, so I pause to see them in the warmth of what feels like a real summer's night in Plaza Mayor.

2. As my last Wednesday class leaves for the day, a weight (mainly of paper) is lifted. All the tests, flashcards, reports, worksheets, and handouts can be recycled, handed back, or passed on to someone else. What's important is that I'm freeing myself from a paper prison and I feel like a bird who is about to take off to different skies.

3. I'm taking photos of my neighborhood so that my mom and dad can see what it's like around where I've lived for the past three months. I've always appreciated the intricate architecture that lines Calle Gamazo, but tonight, the sun hits the buildings perfectly bathing them in a warm glow.

Impressions, fairy talesque, and accents

1. After our first day in Sevilla, when I close my eyes at night, I can see only bright splashes of flowers, intricate tiles, ostentatious buildings, and trees flowering the color purple. A clear blue sky is the perfect backdrop for a wild setting with too much going on. Nevertheless, I slept soundly.

2. When Maggie, Kathrin, and I arrive to our hostel in Sevilla, we open the door to see three identical twin beds with flowered spreads, a wardrobe with mirror, pink walls, and long curtains. We feel as though we'll be staying in a dollhouse and when the proprietor says that we have to be in by 1am, we then feel like Cinderella. This all fits in perfectly with our all-girls weekend away and we indulge girlishly.

3. In Andalucia, Spaniards drop the 's' in most words. Hearing a new Spanish accent makes my ears perk up in curiosity and I attempt to try it out myself, but am completely satisfied being able to understand basic phrases in a different region of Spain.